Misdemeanor Conviction For 29 Miner Deaths

After a long trial, former West Virginia coal executive Don "Big Shit" Blankenship was convicted today on a single misdemeanor charge of conspiracy to commit mine safety violations.  The conviction carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison.  The former Massey Energy Co. CEO had faced decades in prison for multiple counts stemming from the Upper Big Branch mine disaster in which claimed the lives of 29 miners.  Naturally, the human turd pile plans to appeal and may very well get away with, well, murder.

Back in 2010, Digby had this wonderful sketch ("Sociopathic Plutocrat") of the viciously anti- union, well- heeled Big Shit after he stirred up a crowd of benighted miners and their families (the kind who commonly vote against their self- interest) in his trademark American flag regalia:

I honestly can't think of a better illustration of plutocratic arrogance. He's literally killing them, but because he looks like a patriotic good old boy and mutters corn pone gibberish in vaguely soothing tones, they cheer wildly and consider him one of them. He climbed back into his personal helicopter that day and had a good laugh having just been reassured once again that there's a sucker born every minute.

Today, he's probably climbing back into his personal helicopter and having a good laugh with his lawyers having just been reassured once again that there's at least 12 suckers who can serve on a jury in West Virginia.  He'll beat this rap yet, mark our words.

(Photo: The last refuge of a scoundrel - "Big Shit" Blankenship's a killer patriot.)

Report on West Virginia Mine Disaster

The State of West Virginia has now issued its report on the April 2010 mine disaster at the Upper Big Branch Mine which killed 29 miners (NY Times summary here). The report accuses the operators of the mine, Massey Energy, of maintaining "a culture in which wrongdoing became acceptable." This culture, personified by CEO Don "Big Shit" Blankenship, manifested itself in safety short-cuts and what the report calls "profoundly reckless" behavior that ultimately led directly to the deaths of the miners. Big Shit and his fellow laissez-faire, eColi conservatives tried to shift the blame to others and are still disputing the report's findings. Seventeen Massey Energy executives refused to be interviewed for the report.

It's sociopaths like this, populating the ranks of so many corporations as well as their Rethuglican party, who go on living comfortably while others are left to fill the voids in their lives caused by the sociopaths' greed and wanton disregard for human life. Now we want to see those bastards pay.

. . . .And the BS Detector Went Off

Several weeks after the explosion that killed 29 miners in the Upper Big Branch coal mine, the mine company CEO, Don "Big Shit" Blankenship is claiming he did nothing wrong. Right-wing tea bagger cause booster Big Shit appeared before a Senate subcommittee investigating the cause of the disaster. When given an opportunity to accept responsibility, Big Shit stated, "I have made safety my number one priority. Massey does not place profits over safety. We never have, and we never will." Riiiight. . . . and up is down, night is day, and Big Shit is a decent man. If you believe Big Shit, you'll believe anyone.

The history of that mine tells a different story:

"In investigations several months before the explosion, Upper Big Branch Mine was found to have airflow -- which keeps deadly gases from rising to explosive levels -- moving in the wrong direction, according to the mine safety agency known as MSHA (pronounced em-sha). It also had 16 other cited violations but had appealed them all (under a much-criticized federal policy, all 16 appealed citations were dismissed)."

Big Shit and his like see these tragedies as PR problems to be managed and mitigated, and not something that should interfere with their insatiable drive for maximum profits at any cost. What's really required are criminal charges in cases like this where the worker-be-damned corporate philosophy results in needless deaths.

(photo: Big Shit tells fellow wingnuts he loves his country more than making a buck)

Behind the West Virginia Mine Tragedy

The tragic death of 25 miners underscores the continual danger involved in coal mining today (4 miners are unaccounted for). However, despite state and Federal mine safety regulations, some coal companies regularly put maximizing profits over the safety of their workers.

While the story is still unfolding, it appears that the mine's owners, Massey Energy Co., has had numerous safety violations and has been fined over the past several years -- nearly $400,000 last year alone. Apparently, the company has actually refused to pay some of the fines. The CEO of Massey Energy is Don "Big Shit" Blankenship, a right-wing corporate thug who has tried in the past to buy a judge on the state court, and weaken mine safety enforcement. It's rumored that Big Shit wants to run as a Rethuglican against Dem. incumbent Rep. Nick Rayhall. Maybe we'll see Big Shit do a political ad from deep inside one of his coal mines, wearing his Stars 'N Stripes outfit and telling us what a good job he did at Massey Energy.

(photo: An actual photo of Big Shit Blankenship at a wingnut "Friends of America" rally which featured Sean "Heil" Hannity and Ted "Numbnuts" Nugent, no doubt telling everyone that the "gummint" is the problem)